7G2 Letters, Extracts, and Notes. 



small female ; the wing is less than 9 inches. The soft parts 

 are coloured as follows : — Bill dirty orange-yellow ; eyes 

 bright yellow; legs, toes, and webs orange. It is silvery 

 white on the head and neck, a little shaded with yellowish 

 oa the rest of the body. 



I think this variety is very scarce, and do not remember to 

 have seen such a specimen in any collection. 



I take the opportunity to state that in the Collection 

 Contarini (at Venice) there is an example of the very rare 

 cross between the Mallard and the Shoveller, the only one, I 

 believe, preserved in our collections. It is a male, very well 

 characterised, shot in the wild state on the lagoons of Venice 

 more than sixty years ago, not well stuffed, but very well 

 preserved, so that it would be opportune to make it up again. 

 The bill is not so broad as in Spatula clypeata, and it has the 

 green of the head and neck, shoulder and back of Anas boscas, 

 but it wants the posterior black band. The comb-like teeth 

 are much less developed than in the Shoveller and the feet 

 are smaller than those of the Wild Duck. 



The Mallard is common in winter and breeds occasionally 

 u ith us. The Shoveller does not breed in Italy ; it is abundant 

 enough in winter and on passage, particularly during the 

 spring migration, but it appears to be somewhat local in its 

 distribution, and is more particularly a freshwater Duck. 



Yours &c, 



Count E. Arrigoni degli Oddi. 

 Ca' Oddo (Monseliee-Padova), 

 July 31st, 1910. 



Progress of the Expedition of the B.O.U. into Central New 

 Guinea*. — The latest letters received from Mr. Goodfellow 

 and the other members of the B.O.U. expedition to New 

 Guinea are dated June 4th. Up to that time we are sorry 

 to say little further progress had been made. This was 

 mainly owing to the great difficulties experienced in conveying 

 the stores from the base camp at Wakatimi on the Mimika 



* For previous notices on this subject, see ' Ibis,' 1898, Jub. Suppl. 

 p. 12 ; ' Ibis,' 1909, pp. 194, 715 ; < Ibis,' 1910, pp. 223, 377, 570. 



